Mopping up the victory! Plymouth Argyle score an incredible comedy goal on their waterlogged pitch to top the table in League One – but only after the ball got stuck on the wet turf to initially stop them scoring!
- Plymouth’s Ryan Broom scored a hilarious goal in sodden conditions on Tuesday
- Danny Mayor had an open goal but was denied by a puddle as the rain poured
- Mayor had won the ball on the halfway line and rounded the Bolton goalkeeper
- But as he drove into the box, a puddle saw the ball stop dead and he ran past it
- Ryan Hardie took over but was dispossessed by a mix of a puddle and a tackle
- The ball fell to Broom who smashed it in and celebrated with a dive into a puddle
Every amateur footballer has been there. The weather is abysmal, you’re sodden after 10 minutes and the pitch is so waterlogged you can’t kick the ball more than 10 yards across the ground.
But Plymouth Argyle showed everyone exactly how to play in those dire conditions on Tuesday night, scoring one of the most comical goals you’re likely to see in their League One clash with Bolton.
Ryan Broom wrapped up the scoring in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Pilgrims at Home Park but only when he took advantage of the dreadful conditions just outside the penalty area.
Ryan Broom made the most of some awful wet weather to score for Plymouth against Bolton
Substitute Danny Mayor’s work rate was the catalyst for the goal as he latched onto a ball that got stuck in a puddle between two Bolton defenders around the half-way line.
Mayor then drove forward into the Bolton half, desperately trying to avoid the water that had gathered on the playing surface.
Bolton goalkeeper Joel Dixon came charging out of his area but Mayor beat him to it and went past him with ease.
Then he was faced with nothing but an empty goal and took one touch before coming into the penalty area. But, in a cruel twist of fate, as Mayor tried to touch it again, the ball stopped dead in the water and he ran past it.
Argyle’s top scorer this season, Ryan Hardie, was not going to let the chance pass him up and he picked up possession next to Mayor.
But the weather got the better of him, too. Just as he was about to take a touch, a combination of another puddle and a recovering Bolton defender managed to dispossess him superbly.
Danny Mayor’s work rate was the catalyst for the goal as he pressured two Bolton defenders
Mayor latched onto a ball that got stuck in a puddle between them and then sprinted away
Bolton goalkeeper Joel Dixon came charging out of his area but Mayor stayed calm on the ball
Mayor beat the goalkeeper to it and went past him with ease, leaving the target wide open
But as Mayor tried to touch it again, the ball stopped dead in the water and he ran past it
Argyle’s top scorer this season, Ryan Hardie, then picked up possession as he ran past Mayor
But a combination of a puddle and a recovering Bolton defender managed to dispossess him
The ball then fortuitously fell to Broom, who took one touch out of his feet inside the box
Broom then blasted it into the back of the net to wrap up the comfortable victory for Plymouth
Broom celebrated with a head-first dive in the corner as he was mobbed by his team-mates
The ball then fortuitously fell to Broom, who took one touch out of his feet and blasted it into the back of the net to wrap up the victory.
Making the most of the abysmal playing surface, Broom then celebrated with a head-first dive in the corner as he was mobbed by his team-mates.
Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe admitted afterwards he was hoping Mayor would score to end his barren run in front of goal.
He said: ‘I was hoping Danny would score. He’s in good spirits to be fair, but it would have been nice for him to get a goal – at that end as well.
‘When he misses it, then Ryan takes over and you think he can get another goal in the charts, and then he misses it.
‘Then you are thinking “Okay, who’s next?” and Broomy pops up. Look, the pitch late on was a little bit of a problem for both teams but I thought we were in the ascendancy and just kept trying to go and go.
Victory ensured Ryan Lowe’s Plymouth side made it 13 games unbeaten and retained top spot
‘If Danny had got that third it would have been good for him but it doesn’t matter who scores. We have got it and we have won 3-0.’
Defender Brendan Galloway, who had scored Argyle’s opening goal in only the sixth minute, added: ‘I was waiting to celebrate a long time before that, from when Danny was running through.
‘Then I had to steady my run. All of a sudden Ryan Hardie has got it and then Broomy has ended up with it and it’s in the back of the net thankfully.
‘I think that we deserved it. They were great runs forward from all the players – the determination to still do it at 2-0 and push for a third goal shows what the team is about.’
Victory ensured Plymouth maintained top spot in League One as they chalked up their third win in a row and made it 13 games unbeaten.